More Than A Woman
by tarheelveteran
Summary: Horatio notices that Yelina just hasn't been herself lately. He knows she will need him more than ever when she undergoes surgery. WARNING! Deals very explicitly with female problems. If this bothers you, please go on to the next story.
1. Nobody Can Know

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of CSI Miami or its intellectual properties. Please don't sue me; my lawyer's in jail. **

**A/N: WARNING! Contains explicit references to female problems. **

**This story is based on my own experience with this type of surgery. Many times things are leared through stories like this. Please let me know if you think this story would be a good teaching tool about hysterectomies. **

* * *

**Chapter 1—Nobody Must Know**

Private Investigator Yelina Salas tilted her head down and watched her subject, just like she had so many times before. She sat perfectly still, her long, chocolate curls concealed her eyes like a curtain. There were no sounds in the car except her labored breathing. With a pale, sweaty, trembling hand she reached down on the seat and clicked on her microcassette recorder.

"Ten-forty-five in the morning. Subject is seen coming to his front door. Subject is carrying a folding ladder estimated to weigh about thirty-five pounds. He is not wearing any kind of medical equipment at this time." With that she clicked it off and took a breath.

The Florida heat and humidity caused her to sweat horribly by now, her thick hair clinging to her neck. Nonetheless, she couldn't turn on her car's the air conditioning. Nobody could know she was there. She glanced in the rear view mirror. Her beautiful brown eyes looked as vacant and tired as she felt. Her once beautiful skin looked pale. She felt a heaviness in her pelvis. It was doubtful she would put in a full day today. But she clicked on the microcassette recorder and glanced down again.

"Ten-fifty in the morning. Subject is now unfolding ladder in front of his residence." Very discreetly she took out her camera phone and clicked it in his direction. He seemed to be unaware of her presence as she watched him climb the ladder to his roof.

Without warning, pain shot through her womb like a lightning bolt. It was as though someone had knifed her. But she couldn't move. She grimaced and her muscles froze as the sweat poured from her forehead and soaked her curls. No one could hear her whimper in agony as she clenched her fists and her toes. Nobody could know she was watching.

She felt helpless. But nobody could know she was there. Least of all her subject. There was too much to lose.

Finally the pain faded away. She took a deep breath and sighed. Then that other feeling came on.

_Dammit, not again! I don't believe this!_

Yelina put down her microcassette recorder and started the engine. She had as much information as she needed. But first and foremost, she had to get to a bathroom. Immediately.

There were few customers in the small, run-down diner by that time. Quickly and quietly she ducked into the ladies' room. Toilet paper had been strewn all over the stall. She couldn't worry about it just then as she fumbled through her white purse.

It was her last tampon, and she was out of change. She would have to go home and get more. This one only lasted about an hour.

* * *

"Yelina."

She gave him a sad smile through the screen door. "Horatio."

"Thought I'd come check on you and Ray Jr."

She backed away from the door. "Sure. Come on in."

Sadly Horatio watched his sister-in-law. She was tired, pale, shaky, and sad again. Instead of those cute white sundresses, she was wearing a long tee shirt and dark leggings. She had been like this for several months now. She was holding her hand over her abdomen again. "You come to see Ray Jr?" she asked to take attention away from herself. She knew he was studying her again.

Horatio dipped his head. "I think I should be concerned about you, Yelina. You've been sick again, haven't you?"

She shrugged with a half smile. "Oh, well, this is been a rough case."

"Yelina?"

"I'm fine!"

"Yelina, you used to do the more high-stakes cases. Now for the last two months you've been doing insurance fraud and divorce cases. You're tired every time I see you. Have you gone to the doctor?"

"I haven't had time, Horatio. As a PI I'm very busy. You know that."

"You're pale and shaky too."

She leaned her head on her hand and stared out the window. She hadn't had energy to do much else.

"Mom?"

Ray Jr stood in the hallway. "Oh, hey Uncle Horatio."

The Lieutenant smiled fondly at his nephew. "Ray, I'm going to have a little talk with your mother. Why don't you wait for me in the other room?"

"I just wondered if Mom was gonna make dinner. It's getting late, and I'm hungry."

Yelina closed her eyes. "I'll be right there, Ray" she moaned.

"Actually, I was just thinking, Ray. How long has it been since you and I went out for burgers? I'm sure your mother could use a quiet night to herself."

A smile crossed the teen's face. "Yeah. Great! Thanks!"

"Good. Meet me out by the car."

As Ray Jr. stepped out the front door, Horatio looked at his weary sister-in-law again.

Yelina smiled tiredly. ''Thank you."

He smiled back. "I'll have Ray back in a couple of hours. I want you to take a hot bath and go to bed early. And then in the morning I'm gonna take you to see the doctor so we can find out what the problem is."

She dipped her eyes.

"Something wrong?"

"It's not my regular doctor. It's my gynecologist."

Her brother-in-law was unfazed. "That's fine. I'll take you there and wait outside. But we're going tomorrow. Is it the same problem?"

She nodded.

"I thought he put you on medication."

"Doesn't work anymore."

"So your problem came back?"

She nodded sadly. "Horatio, I'm so tired all the time." Her voice cracked with emotion as she clutched her stomach. "I can't keep doing this." Her eyes moistened. "I keep taking iron pills and drinking water. They don't help. I'm so dehydrated." She leaned her face on her hand again. "Horatio, I can't do this anymore."

Horatio stood close to his beloved sister-in-law and just looked down at her sympathetically. "We'll go to the doctor tomorrow, Yelina. Now go. Get yourself a hot bath and go to bed. I'll call you in the morning."

"Thank you" she said into her hand.

As he guided the Hummer away from the curb, Horatio was silent. He'd seen the bottles of iron pills. He'd seen all the boxes of tampons. Her "problem" had come back. He knew the doctor had put her on hormones, but they had lost their effectiveness. Yelina didn't like to discuss the bleeding that wore her out. As always she was going to tough it out. Just like she had when Raymond was deep undercover, leaving her to raise Ray Jr. alone. Just like when Raymond had crossed back over to the dark side in Brazil. Just like when Raymond was killed. And she would be tough again now. That was her way. It was what made her such a superb police officer and private investigator.

Ray Jr. had been staring silently at the dashboard. He knew Uncle Horatio was troubled, and he knew Mom wasn't feeling well.

"You okay, Buddy?" Horatio finally said to his nephew.

Silence.

"What's wrong with Mom?" he finally said.

"Ray, your mother might need to take a little vacation. But she's going to need our understanding. Okay?"

Ray Jr. nodded.

Horatio's mind wandered back several years. He could still feel his blood pressure rise as Rick Stetler stormed out of his sister-in-law sporting his belongings and a bruised, swollen eye.

"_I guess you didn't need me after all" he said to her with a smile._

_Yelina looked at him with a quiet anger. "That's not true. And that will never be true."_

Horatio looked at the steering wheel again. If it was what he thought it was, Yelina and Ray Jr. would certainly need him this time.


	2. Thy Brother's Wife

**Disclaimer: See Chapter 1**

**A/N: Though I can't remember names offhand, I thank you for the reviews. You know who you are.**

* * *

**Chapter 2—Thy Brother's Wife**

The man held up the ultrasound film to the office light and scanned it with his weathered blue eyes, just as he had done for so many other women. After searching every inch of the picture he finally turned his eyes toward her.

"So Miss Salas, you say your period has been heavy and nonstop for the last three months despite the hormone therapy? And you're going through a tampon about every hour?"

The tough, determined P.I. felt squeamish and violated as she huddled in that blue exam gown. As many times as doctors and nurses had poked and probed her while she carried Ray Jr., it never seemed to get any easier. "That's right" she said to the wall.

Dr. Keener then flipped chart pages. "Well, _this_ could explain why you've been so tired and nervous. Your iron levels are about half what they should be. The bleeding's made you dehydrated and anemic. Do you take any supplements?"

"Sometimes."

He nodded. "As of today I want you to double those iron supplements for the next week. The generic brand will work fine, but it's important we get those iron levels back up, and should make you feel much better. In the next week I'll order a blood test so we can check your iron levels. I also recommend you drink at least a gallon of water a day for your dehydration."

_Great. The period's not bad enough. I'll have to go to the bathroom all the time!_

"Now why don't we call in your brother-in-law and we can discuss options?"

Horatio glanced around him as he sat patiently in the waiting room of the Miami Women's Center. This didn't look much like a typical waiting room. The walls were painted a soothing mauve color with huge pictures of expectant mothers caressing their bellies and young, carefree women in long, flowing dresses, no doubt taking in their femininity. Somewhere in the office he could hear the trickling of a tabletop fountain. Gray statues of women admiring their newborn bundles of joy graced the magazine tables. Everything seemed to invite a woman to calm down and celebrate her femininity. But as he watched around him, it didn't seem to work all that well. Women still had to control their restless, cranky children. Young, harried husbands who were contemplating the responsibilities of fatherhood didn't seem to be affected. And other women still stood at the desk and argued about insurance premiums.

"Mr. Caine, would you follow me, please?"

He tipped his head up and stood, following the nurse who smiled at him and motioned for him to come down the hallway.

"Good afternoon. Miss Salas is in Room 6" she said in a hushed voice. "Let me just knock on the door."

"Thank you Ma'am" he said politely.

As he slipped in the door of the glaring white exam room, he saw that Yelina had already changed back into those dark clothes. She turned her sad brown eyes to him, just as she had so many times before.

"Mr. Caine. I'm Dr. Keener. Nice to meet you."

Facing him was the tall, sturdy, weathered man with the blue eyes and white hair. Horatio thought this man probably fretted over women almost as much as he did in his life. He knew that doctors generally didn't shake hands, so he simply nodded to him. "Doctor."

"Miss Salas tells me you're her brother-in-law and next of kin."

"I am."

"Yes, well, we did an ultrasound of her uterus, and I did a physical examination and ordered some bloodwork. Your sister-in-law's condition has caused her to be severely dehydrated and anemic. I also discontinued the estrogen. The progesterone by itself should at least slow down some of the bleeding." He looked at Yelina now. "Miss Salas, Mr. Caine, you don't need me to tell you that every option has failed up to now. I'm afraid we're going to have to do the last resort. Your uterus will have to come out."

Horatio nodded thoughtfully as he glanced at Yelina. She miserably closed her eyes.

Dr. Keener continued. "Now Miss Salas, the good news in all this is that you're an excellent candidate for the laparoscopic surgery, meaning I'll make only a couple of small incisions on your abdomen, one umbilical and two on either side. We'll put you under general anesthesia, so no food or water after midnight the night before. Just have a good dinner the night before. Any questions so far?"

"No."

"You'll need to stay in the hospital for at least one night so we can make sure you're healing all right. Another good thing about this new procedure is that you'll only be out of work for two weeks instead of the four to six weeks the old abdominal surgery required. But with the abdominal surgery you would have had a six-inch scar."

Horatio put his hands together in thought. It was hard to ignore Yelina's distress. "Dr. Keener, can I ask what the risks are?"

He nodded. "To start with, general anesthesia is always risky. There's also a risk, Miss Salas, that your bladder or your colon might be nicked when we do the procedure. You might bleed heavily, in which case I might have to do an abdominal hysterectomy on you, and you'd have the six-inch incision. Obviously I'm going to try to avoid all those. But the good news is, the only thing we'd have to take out is your uterus. Everything else can stay."

Yelina seemed relieved.

"I'm going to give this over to the hospital, and they'll call you to schedule your surgery. You'll have a preop appointment so you can have preop bloodwork and your paperwork done. That way you can just come right in on the day we do the procedure. You should be able to have that surgery in the next two weeks or so. I'll write a prescription for Tylox for your convalescence. You might have some pain, but you won't care. And after the surgery, nothing in your vagina for fourteen days. Do you have any other questions?"

Horatio looked sympathetically at his sister-in-law. That tough woman that he loved so much looked as though she wanted to cry. "Thank you, Dr. Keener" he finally said. "We'll wait for the hospital to call us."

* * *

Ray Jr. came to the screen door. "Hi Uncle Horatio."

"Ray. Is your mother home?"

The boy looked at him quietly. He just opened the door and backed away so his uncle could walk in. "Yeah, she's in the bedroom."

Fingering his sunglasses, he walked past his nephew and stopped at the open door of the bedroom.

"Yelina."

The blue curtains in her bedroom were drawn, and it was dark, the better to match her mood, he thought. Her beautiful brown curls covered her face like a curtain. Yelina simply sat on the foot of the bed, her head hung down. She was staring at the floor. "Horatio."

He stood at the doorway. It hurt him to see her like this. "Are you all right?"

She didn't answer.

"May I come in?"

"Sure."

Slowly Horatio walked in and sat down on the edge of the bed next to his sister-in-law. Even though she never looked at him, he could tell she had been crying. Her eyes were moist. She had her hand on her abdomen. He just watched her with those sympathetic blue eyes.

"Is it about the surgery?"

She sniffed. "Horatio, I've been through so much."

He wanted so badly to reach out and put his hand on her angry womb, to comfort her, to take her hurt away. "I know. You're about to lose your womb. And your ability to have children. You can't tell me that's not bothering you."

"I have Ray Jr." she said toward the floor. Finally that tough resolve began to melt, and she looked at him with desperation. "How am I going to pay for all this when I can't work for two weeks?"

"You leave that to me, Yelina. You're going to need rest. But right now you can't be worrying."

Finally she looked at the mirror on her bedroom dresser and took a deep breath. She caressed her stomach again. Horatio looked with her.

"You won't be any less of a woman" he assured her. "In fact, you won't have those problems anymore. You're not gonna feel sick anymore. And you'll be able to wear that white sundress again."

She looked at his eyes in the mirror again. "Horatio?"

"I'm listening."

"I know I was your brother's wife. But we're both widowed. Why do you keep avoiding me?"

He looked down again. He could still reach out and touch that beautiful curly hair in his mind, that beautiful skin.

The bleeding, the tiredness, and the tangled hormones were all colliding now. She sniffed again, almost chuckling. "I know. Those _boundaries_ of yours. You've gotten used to them. It's like you told me. It's so _easy_ to get used to those boundaries." Looking away from him, she slapped the edge of the bed with her hand in frustration. "You know what? Why don't you just go on home? Ray Jr. and I will be fine. I appreciate you checking up on me, but we'll be all right. We've survived so much. I mean, what am I supposed to do? Wait the rest of my life while you just make up your mind?" A tear trickled out of her eye. She tipped her head down to cover her face with her hair.

"Yelina, I—"

She gripped the bedspread. "No! Just go! Thank you for taking me to the doctor!"

He simply got up from the bed. "I'll call you."


	3. The Waiting is the Hardest Part

**Disclaimer: See Chapter 1**

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**Chapter 3—The Waiting Is the Hardest Part**

With his knee Horatio pushed the worn ottoman up to the old brown armchair until he was sure that it would be a good place for Yelina to put up her feet. He then set a pillow on the chair and patted it. "You should be comfortable right there" he said, satisfied. "You'll be able to sit with your feet up, like the nurse recommended."

Yelina hadn't had anything to eat or drink. She wore no makeup and had taken off her nail polish and jewelry. Ray Jr. was with his grandmother. By the door was the little red bag that she had packed for a night in the hospital.

But now it had all caught up to her. She had been sitting on the edge of the sofa, tired, watching her brother-in-law arrange things so she would be comfortable. Now she sighed, holding her head up and putting her hand on her angry pelvis again. She wasn't sure what bothered her more—the hunger, the thirst, the fear of pain, being out of work, Ray Jr, or the bleeding, but she was clearly at her wit's end. Ten o'clock couldn't come soon enough. Just get this over with so she could live some semblance of a normal life.

Sadly the Lieutenant watched her as she leaned her face on her hand and held her abdomen again. Her eyes were wet again.

"It'll be all right" he encouraged.

"I know" she said into her hand. "I just…. I don't know."

Horatio finally walked over and sat next to her on the sofa. She never looked up. Without a word he put his hand over hers on her painful, bleeding abdomen and guided her hand in circles over her tender, aching womb. "How's that feel?" he nearly whispered.

Surprised by his sudden tenderness, Yelina fought tears. "That…feels…much better." She let him interlace his fingers between hers as he continued to caress her stomach. There were no sounds except her quiet sobbing and the rustling of his guiding her hand over that tender spot.

She couldn't help it anymore. Yelina turned and wrapped her arms around him, letting her sobs out into the open now. For so long she had waited for a moment like this. He shushed her as he caressed her back. "It's okay, Yelina. Let it out. I'm gonna be right there for you when you go in, and when you wake up. Do you believe that?"

"Yes I do" she whispered between her sobs. "I really do."

After holding her for several minutes, he glanced at his watch. "Well, it's nine-thirty. I think we better go get you checked in."

* * *

As Yelina lay on the hospital bed in the waiting area, a strange sadness had replaced the fear. She thought about Horatio as he sat in the waiting area, away from her. She glanced down at the IV line that a nurse in green scrubs had stuck into her left hand, her eyes following the line all the way up to the saline bag that hung over her head. Her eyes then fell on the brown walls and the white curtains all around her. Those glaring lights. The smell of chemicals. Strange voices on the other side of the curtain. Naked except for that blue hospital gown and that cotton-thin blanket. That chart sitting on her knees. And those rubber slippers on her feet! She caressed her tender, raging belly again. In an hour that belly was going to be cut up, she thought. She had felt pain in the hospital before. She closed her eyes. Horatio wasn't there, her body was about to be cut up, and her womb would be sucked out with a vacuum cleaner. Tears ran down her face again.

"_Buenos dias, Senora Salas!_" a cheery voice called as yet another green-scrubbed man came through the white curtain.

"I speak English!" she snarled.

The man blushed at his mistake. "I'm very sorry. Miss Salas. I'm the nurse anesthetist; I'll be in charge of the sedation while Dr. Keener is doing your procedure. Just a few questions." He glanced down and scrawled at the chart. "Shouldn't be much longer. They're getting the OR room ready for you now, so I'm going to give you some 'I don't care' medicine before we take you over to the OR." He glanced at the chart. First, give me your full name."

"Yelina Salas" she said, her voice cracking.

Satisfied, he glanced at the chart again. "And Miss Salas, are you in any pain other than that IV line in your hand?"

She shook her head.

"Are you pregnant?"

"No."

The man sounded like an auctioneer as he quickly rattled off questions about chest pains, lung disease, seizures, diabetes, or anything else she may not have told the doctor, all the while glancing up at her between every question and watching her sad reaction.

"And what did you have for breakfast this morning?"

She smirked. "Absolutely nothing."

"Good answer." He then fastened a needle to a vial and injected it into her IV line. "We like to call this the 'I don't care' medicine. It will take the edge off as we get ready to take you in, and you'll get the rest of it when you get over to the OR."

Within minutes, Yelina felt a floating warmth in her body. The fear, the pain and the tenderness all simply floated away. The fact that Horatio wasn't there, she wasn't working, her hormones were tangled, and she was hungry, thirsty and upset didn't matter anymore. That she was nearly naked and alone under those glaring lights with strangers in scrubs and carrying needles didn't matter anymore. The idea of her insides being cut up and sucked out didn't matter anymore. In the curtained area she slowly lay back, letting her curls rest on the pillow. She now smiled as a horde of nurses and aides stuffed her curls into a cap, pulled the thin blanket to her waist, and wheeled her out into the hallway, past more nurses and aides. She felt as though she were flying as the bed carried her into the elevator, through the doors, and into the brown operating room. She simply looked up at the huge light over her head. It reminded her of the morgue. Plugs and wires being attached to her chest and fingers. Something about a sponge count. It all blurred together.

"_Can you hear me Miss Salas?"_

* * *

Before she opened her eyes, she was aware of a hissing noise. Little by little her senses came back. First her hearing, then her skin. Finally she opened her eyes.

Sitting next to her was a blue-scrubbed nurse who simply glanced at her and then back at some kind of monitor. Back and forth the small, black-haired woman looked at her and then at the monitor again. Something squeezed her arm periodically and let go with another hissing sound.

Yelina didn't feel any pain, as she had feared. But even in her weakness she could feel a strange emptiness where her raging womb had once been. Now, besides all the hissing, she could hear the _Beep! Beep! Beep!_ of the heart monitor behind her head.

"How are you feeling?" the woman asked.

"Tired" she slurred.

"That's just the anesthesia wearing off. What I want you to do, Miss Salas, is take deep breaths. Start breathing the anesthesia out of your lungs." As the woman sat in front of the monitor, she motioned with her arms.

The P.I. just wanted to close her eyes and go back to sleep under all those wires and that nasal canula that hissed in her nose. But she pushed up on her ribcage and breathed out.

Suddenly the woman stiffened up. "Wait a minute! Miss Salas?" She reached over and frantically picked up the phone. "OR Recovery! Code Alpha! Code Alpha!"

* * *

Horatio sat expectantly in the quiet, empty hospital room. This was obviously designed for a woman to relax and recover, he thought. The walls were painted a dusty rose with burgundy bordering. A vase of fake flowers decorated the table under the TV set. As he looked out over the Miami skyline, he thought about how Yelina felt in his arms—her beautiful curls, that soft skin, those beautiful brown eyes. How he helped tenderly caress her angry womb, bringing the tough P.I. to tears.

Still, he couldn't help but glance at his watch and look at the doorway. It had been over an hour now. Any minute they were to bring her into the room, and he would hold her hand again, sitting with her as she rested. Dr. Keener said that everything had gone fine. It shouldn't be much longer before they bring her in, he thought. Any minute.

The brown-haired, ponytailed nurse met him at the doorway, carrying a clipboard.

"Mr. Caine?"

Horatio furrowed his eyebrows. "Ma'am? Is Miss Salas coming?"

She paused.

He could sense right away that something wasn't right. "Ma'am?"

"I'm afraid there's been a problem. We've had to take her back to the OR."

"What kind of problem?" he asked forcefully. "Is she gonna be okay?"

"We don't know yet. Her hemoglobin levels and her heart rate are dropping rapidly. The doctor thinks she may be bleeding internally. She'll be transferred to ICU after this so we can keep a closer eye on her. Come with me, please."

Adrenaline shot through him as he quickly followed the nurse. He knew the nurse couldn't give him any more information, but this was Yelina they were talking about. He had only held her close and savored her in his arms that morning. "Is she going to be all right?"

Slowly she turned to him. "You may want to go home and get some rest, Sir. We'll call you."

"Is she going to be all right?" he asked again.

Her green eyes met his. "The doctor's going to do everything he can, Sir. Now please. Go home. We'll call you."


	4. What Might Have Been

**Disclaimer: See Chapter 1**

**A/N: Italics indicate a dream sequence.  
The song for this chapter is "I Want to Know What Love Is" by Foreigner**

* * *

**Chapter 4—What Might Have Been**

Hours had passed since Horatio had been shooed out of the bright, comfortable hospital room in the women's center. Now things were decidedly more somber. Another Florida thunderstorm raged outside as lightning flashed and rain pounded against the outside windows. The weather matched his mood.

He had lost count how many times he had been in the ICU and for so many people. All those victims. Eric Delko. Marisol. Now Yelina. But this time it seemed so different, he thought, as his eyes followed those IV and EKG lines that ran from behind her head and trailed down to her chest and her arm. He'd never felt so alone before. That lightning lit up the back of the room as the thunder crashed again.

Silently he walked in and sat down next to the head of her bed. As she slept, quietly and gently he reached out and stroked those beautiful curls of hers that lay spread out over the white pillow. Over and over again he heard the hissing of her oxygen canula and the _Beep! Beep! Beep!_ of the EKG monitor behind her head. In his silent thought he figured out that her IV monitor clicked about every minute or so. The gray blood pressure cuff inflated on her arm and let out a sigh. Gently he reached down and touched her belly so as not to cause too much pressure. She was oblivious to everything, just continuing to sleep peacefully, it seemed.

Horatio could no longer help himself. He began to think about what might have been. If he had asked the pretty young homicide detective out before Raymond did. If he hadn't gotten used to "those boundaries" before Rick Stetler could steal her away. If Raymond hadn't shown up alive. Maybe if she and Ray Jr. had run away from Rio while Raymond was tangled up with the drugs. What might have been?

What might have been if she hadn't gotten sick? Why didn't he really notice her until she needed him? Maybe if he had been there for her and Ray Jr. more, she might have been resting comfortably in the soft, cozy women's hospital instead of in the stark, wiry intensive care ward.

He was starting to get drowsy. He hadn't gone home at all. He hadn't eaten. He just kept watching Yelina as her chest rose and fell faintly.

He heard a tap on the window. Horatio turned to see Eric peering through the glass wall. Horatio stepped out of the room. "Eric."

Delko wiped the rain out of his hair and watched with him through the window. "How's she doing, H?"

"Not too well, Eric."

He turned in the direction of more wet footsteps. Alexx, Calleigh, and Frank were walking up to him, leaving wet footprints on the grey floor. Calleigh wrung the excess rainwater out of her blonde hair.

"Hell of a night out there" Frank said, shaking rain off his arms. "How you holding up, Horatio?"

"I'm all right. Not sure about Yelina. They won't tell me anything."

Alexx put a wet hand on his shoulder. "You leave that to me, Sweetie. I'll talk to the nursing staff and see what I can find out. Sometimes you just have to speak the language" she said as she slipped out to the nurses' station.

As he watched through the wall, his hands in his pockets, Calleigh stood next to him and just watched. "She's lucky to have you" the ballistics expert finally said.

He just stared silently.

Minutes later Alexx stepped out in the hallway. She had a much more confident look about her.

"Okay. Talked with the shift nurse. What she told me was that one of her arteries just above her round ligament ruptured. There was a small aneurysm right in front of where Dr. Keener cauterized it. It must have happened right around the time Yelina was waking up. So they took her back into surgery, and they were able to seal up the aneurysm. The good news is, I looked at her vitals, and she looks like she's slowly stabilizing. The bleeding is what caused her heart rate to drop, but it looks like that aneurysm's not gonna cause any more problems. In fact, if she stays stable, it looks like they should transfer her to a regular room in the morning. They just want to make sure she doesn't rupture again. In fact, they didn't even have to make any new incisions. They just took off the surgical glue and worked right through the incisions she already had. Right now they have her on Oxycodone just to sleep off the second surgery." Alexx looked down at the P.I. "Yelina's in good hands right now. In fact, she's off in La-La Land, probably dreaming sweet dreams about something. Or someone."

"Or someone" Horatio lamented.

"You had any dinner yet, Horatio?"

"I've been right here the whole time" he said tiredly.

Alexx looked at Calleigh. "Calleigh, what do you say we watch Yelina while Horatio gets a bite to eat out of the cafeteria?"

Calleigh nodded. "Sure. Horatio, we'll be right here."

He looked at the floor. "She might wake up while I'm gone."

The mother hen firmed her touch on his shoulder. "Baby? You've got to get something in you. Now I promise you. If she wakes up, we'll call you. She's gonna be looking for you when you wake up."

"C'mon, Horatio. I'll go with you" Frank promised. "Cup of coffee sounds good right about now."

Finally he nodded and stood up. "Call me."

_There were no sounds except the warm beach wind whistling through her curls and her white beach wrap. From the cabana she admired the beautiful Caribbean. _

_Horatio stood by the massage table with a bottle of pina colada-scented massage oil and a towel draped over his shoulder. He wore a tee shirt that showed his magnificent arms. _

"_Come. Lie down, Yelina." he whispered into her ear as he untied her fluttering wrap, letting it fall to the sand. "Tell me now. Where does it hurt? I promise I'll make you feel all better."_

_She blushed as the breeze now caressed her naked skin. "My belly's a little sore" she whispered back, caressing her stomach. _

_He patted the soft massage bed. "Lie down, and I'll take the hurt away."_

"_You'll be gentle?"_

"_Yes."_

_As she lay face up on the massage table, he lay a sheet over her body, but she pushed his hand away. "No. I want you to see me."_

_He smiled. "I'd like that." He poured the warm oil on his hand and, with circular motions of his palms, worked it into her tender belly. She moaned with pleasure as she took in the sensations, along with the pina colada and tropical scents. A tropical bird called in the distance. _

"_Am I taking your hurt away?"_

_She smiled with her eyes closed. "Mmmm. Yes. Please don't ever stop taking my hurt away."_

_He leaned closely to her ear as his soft, oily hands worked their way further up her body now. "I'd love to massage you in my own special way, Yelina."_

"_Mmm. You'll be gentle?"_

"_I promise."_

Yelina opened her eyes to see his face right beside hers in the darkness. In her sick drowsiness, she merely studied him for the longest time—his furrowed eyelids, his tousled red hair, his cheek resting on his hands. As her senses came back little by little, she realized that he had fallen asleep while sitting next to her.

A glance at the clock told her that it was three-thirty in the morning. The sweet, beautiful Caribbean surf of her dream was now replaced by the hissing of oxygen, the EKG machine, and the blood pressure cuff. The sweet smell of the pina colada had now become medicine and chemicals.

"Horatio" she whispered.

He didn't respond. He must've been tired, she thought.

"Horatio?"

He opened his eyes with a start and jerked his head up at the sound of her voice. Slowly and painfully he straightened up his back and stretched. He then smiled at her tiredly. "Welcome back."

Yelina never moved. "Have you been here the whole time?"

"I have."

She smiled. "I had a dream about you."

He smiled back. Gently he took her hand in his, careful to avoid the IV needle. "And I had one about you too."

"How long, Horatio?"

"How long till what?"

"How long are we going to avoid how we feel about each other?"

Gently he interlocked his fingers with hers. "Yelina? That's never gonna happen again."


	5. Sopapillas and Sympathy

**Disclaimer: See Chapter 1**

* * *

**Chapter 5-Sopapillas and Sympathy**

_In the glow of the candlelight she leaned her head back against the marble bathtub and closed her eyes. Her senses drank in the lavender aroma of the candles and the soft bubbles that tickled her shoulders. In a fit of playfulness she took some suds into her hands and blew them into the air, giggling as they went airborne and landed on her polished toenails. The rising steam made her hair cling to her neck and shoulders._

"_Yelina."_

_She knew that voice. Slowly she turned and folded her arms on the edge of the tub, resting her chin on her hands and giving him a come-hither look. "Horatio."_

_Horatio stood at the bathroom door wearing only a dark blue bathrobe. "May I come in?"_

"_Well, that depends."_

"_On what?"_

"_Will you wash my back?"_

_As he came up behind her, he let his bathrobe fall to the floor. He then knelt down on the tiles and wrapped his strong, confident arms around her. She squirmed and moaned at the feeling of his skin against her wet back and his lips tasting her shoulders. "I'll do more than that if you'll let me, Yelina" he whispered._

"_Mmm. Horatio" she purred. "Climb in? Wash my back for me?"_

"_Anything you want, Yelina."_

_Slowly he climbed into the warm water behind her, wrapping his arms around her again, and tasted her wet neck. "Mmmm. Yelina. And then how about you get me wet in your own special way?"_

"Yelina."

She stirred and opened one eye, groggy from her deep sleep. "Hmm? Horatio?"

The Lieutenant knelt down to her, watching her tenderly. "Good afternoon. Hope we didn't wake you."

Yelina's whole body felt weighed down, and she still had trouble making sense of things. "We?" In the background she could hear voices and noise. As her senses came back to her, she recognized the faucet running, a vacuum cleaner, an odd banging noise, and what sounded like Frank and Delko arguing.

"Geez, Tripp! You didn't have to eat half my sopapillas! They're for Yelina!"

"That what they are? They look like the kidney stones I passed last week!"

"Hey, I worked hard on those!"

"I only ate a couple. What are those supposed to be again?"

"They're called sopapillas. They're a dessert."

"Okay, Eric. Let's just serve these up, okay?" she heard Calleigh say. "Frank, why don't take Ray Jr?"

"Come on, Ray. Ready to go to the skate park, Buddy?"

Alexx stood at the door and nodded with a smile. "Horatio? If you'll excuse us for a moment, I'd like to check on Yelina and see how she's healing up."

Horatio backed out. "She's all yours, Alexx." With that he closed the door.

"Just like to see how you're healing up there, Sweetie. Here. Lie on your back."

Yelina had held a pillow over her swollen belly. She now lay on her back and let Alexx fold down the blanket and pull up her tee shirt. Her sutures were red and bruised. Her skin was still a little yellow from the Betadine.

"You haven't taken a shower yet, have you?"

Yelina shook her head. "Too tired."

Her once smooth, flat belly was swollen almost as though she were pregnant again.

"How do those scars feel?"

"Itching."

"Great. Means they're healing. I don't see any signs of infection." Alexx touched Yelina's forehead and neck. "No fever. Baby, you're gonna be out raising hell and catching those bad guys in no time" Alexx assured her as she gently covered her and tucked the blanket up around her chest. "Just gonna be swollen for a little while, while the muscles heal and your insides get used to things. How's that Tylox working out for you?"

"It works fine. But…."

"But what?"

In her grogginess, Yelina just sort of smiled. "I'm having some very strange dreams."

"That's just a side effect. Between that and the anesthesia, your mind's gonna be playing tricks on you for about four weeks. The doctor probably told you you can't drive for 24 hours after you stop taking it. How long are you on leave?"

"The doctor said four weeks, but I'm gonna try to go back when I feel better."

The M.E. looked at her with that motherly sternness now. "You're gonna take it easy and get well. We don't need you hurting yourself. Horatio doesn't want to see you back in the ICU. Right now just rest up and enjoy those dreams."

The P.I. just gave her a sleepy smile. She understood. "Thank you." She then tipped her head toward the door. "What's going on out there?"

"Oh, Horatio asked us to come give you a hand getting caught up on some household chores. Feel well enough to join us? Horatio set your chair up in the living room."

"Yes. I'd like that."

Alexx grabbed her robe. "Here, Sweetie. Now roll over on your side." Gingerly Yelina squirmed onto her side and sat up, hanging her head until her senses came back to her. Her ears rang and she moaned. Alexx draped her white robe over her and steadied her to her feet. "Can you walk all right?"

Yelina nodded.

As she opened the door, the sounds of the vacuum, the washer and voices assaulted her sleepy senses.

"Well hey, look who's here" Natalia said cheerily as she turned off the vacuum cleaner. "How are you feeling?"

Yelina didn't answer. She just clutched her swollen stomach as she eased herself down into the chair. Horatio placed her legs on the Ottoman and let her hold a pillow to herself.

"Yelina's up?" Calleigh yelled from the kitchen. "Eric, why don't you bring her the Sopapillas we made for her?"

"You mean the ones Tripp didn't eat?" Delko grumbled. "I don't think she wants any of these, Cal."

"Come on, Eric. They don't look that bad. You hungry, Yelina?"

She smiled tiredly. "Maybe a little."

Delko carried a plate out to her. "Hey, Yelina. Wanted to make you something Columbian, but the sopapillas were all I could make. Cal helped."

As he held the plate in front of her, she studied them. "Ooh. Are these for me?"

Delko smirked. "Frank ate about half of them."

"Don't worry; they taste better than they look" Calleigh said with a smile.

On the plate were a dozen or so oddly-shaped sopapillas drizzled with honey and confectioner's sugar. "We were trying to make them look like birds, but they melted in the fryer."

"That's okay, Eric" Yelina said with her sleepy smile. "Thank you." Carefully she took a bite of one. "Mmm. Delicious."

"But we were able to make you some café cubano" Calleigh said proudly as she put down the coffee cup on the table next to her. "Here you go. Anything's got to be better than hospital food."

Delicately Yelina sipped her coffee. "This is good. Thank you. Actually, my food at the hospital was very good. They gave me some beef and mushroom broth the first day. Then the next day they fed me a cheese omelet with toast and oatmeal. The coffee was delicious. They fed me chicken salad, hamburger steak, chef salad. It was almost like being in a restaurant." As she took another sip of coffee, she glanced around. "You did all this for me?"

Horatio smiled. "Frank took Ray Jr. out to the skateboard park for the afternoon. Everybody came over to help get caught up on some chores. Mr. Wolfe is out buying you some groceries. Ray Jr. told him everything you like to eat, though frankly I think Ray Jr. told Mr. Wolfe what _he_ likes."

"Eric and I cooked supper for you for the next couple of days. You just have to put it in the microwave" Calleigh said, motioning to the kitchen. "Then we did the dishes."

"And I'm on vacation for the next two weeks so you can get healed up" Horatio told her.

"Oh hey, you want to watch TV or something?" Delko asked, looking around for the remote.

She held her hand up. "No, that's okay, Eric. I'd just rather talk with you." Suddenly she hung her head and held her swollen belly.

"You okay?"

Still holding the pillow to her belly, she just looked around at her house and her friends. Then she looked at Horatio. "I'm fine" she said more confidently. "Everything's just fine."


	6. Princess Yelina

**Disclaimer: See Chapter 1**

* * *

**Chapter 6—Princess Yelina**

Horatio still lay on Yelina's couch with his arms folded when a light pierced his sleep. The police officer in him reacted, and he quickly opened his eyes. As the rest of his senses came back, he heard a familiar clicking noise and realized someone was on Yelina's computer in the next room. Lightning and a distant rumble of thunder came through the windows across the room. Other than that it was still dark outside.

Convinced that he could relax now, he rubbed his eyes and reached for his watch. Three in the morning.

"This doesn't help me at all" he heard Yelina say with a frustrated sigh.

As he stretched and looked around, he heard more tapping, more clicking, and now the gurgling of the coffee pot. Then footsteps. Then silence.

He stood up to find Yelina carrying a steaming cup of coffee and holding her belly as she walked slowly to the computer. She looked up at him sadly. "Horatio. I'm sorry. Did I wake you?"

"No, I was just coming to check on you" he said, stretching a little. "Are you all right?"

Yelina didn't answer. She just walked past him and sat down at the computer again. Horatio furrowed his eyebrows as Yelina slapped down the cup of coffee and leaned her head on her hand, her messy curls falling around her face again.

He walked up behind her. "What is it, Yelina?"

Yelina never looked up. She began crying, her sobs becoming louder and more helpless. He pulled up a chair behind her.

"Yelina?"

Slowly she turned back to him, her face wet with tears, her hand still on her slightly swollen belly. A glance at the screen showed that she had minimized the internet page. "It's nothing. I'm fine."

He reached for the mouse. "May I?"

She buried her face in her hand again. "Go ahead, Horatio. I don't care what anybody does anymore!"

He clicked on the task bar to open the web page. Staring back at him was…. Furniture? "Thinking about some new furniture?"

A fresh wave of sobs came over the P.I. Not knowing what else to do, he gently and tenderly rubbed her back. "Just looking" she said through her tears.

He nodded thoughtfully. "You couldn't sleep again."

She wiped her eyes and blew her nose. "I haven't been able to sleep since I stopped taking that Tylox a few days ago."

"Are you still having pain?"

She shook her head. "I wish I could get rid of this, though."

Horatio looked down at her hand over her still swollen belly. "Yelina, you need to give yourself time to heal. It's only been two weeks. If you push yourself too hard, you might start bleeding again. You almost didn't make it."

Yelina nodded, wiping her eyes again. "No, I just feel funny, that's all."

"Well, I know you've been finding out everything you could about this surgery." He sat a little more closely to her and clicked on the mouse again. "So why don't we see what's been causing you to not sleep?"

"Okay" she said weakly.

A hysterectomy website popped up. His blue eyes scanned it. "So you've been looking at a hysterectomy support website. Well, let's see if we can't find out what's causing this." Reaching in front of her he clicked the keyboard. "It says here you might not sleep because your body's been through a trauma. Any kind of surgery is a shock to your system." He read further down. "It also says that you're probably crying because your hormones are out of balance."

Yelina stroked her belly again. "How? They left my ovaries in."

"Maybe, but they shut down after having a knife so close to them. So you're just going to be in menopause for a little while."

She smirked. "Great. I'm just too…."

He looked at her with a sleepy grin. "Too young?"

She looked down. "I guess you were right about…."

"About what, Yelina?"

She looked longingly at the table now. "Even though I have Ray Jr., I won't ever be able to have any other children again. And I wish this would go away."

Horatio glanced at the webpage and then put his hand over hers, helping to caress her belly. "You mean the 'swelly-belly'?"

She smiled. "Yes, the 'swelly-belly'. I can't get into my jeans yet. I've had to wear those leggings."

"You haven't even had your post-op appointment yet."

"I know."

He looked at her more seriously now. "Yelina, you're going to need your rest. It's only been two weeks. Maybe your scars are healing, but—" he glanced at the webpage again. "It says here that your insides are going to take months to heal. And if you keep pushing yourself too hard, you're going to end up back in the hospital."

She closed her eyes. Ray Jr. Her work. The house. The boredom. Getting back into action.

Horatio watched her. "Yelina?"

She finally sighed, frustrated. "I'm sorry, Horatio."

He glanced back at the website again. "But I noticed something else here." He scrolled down on the page. "It also says that this is the time for you to indulge yourself and let everyone treat you like the princess you are."

"Oh, please."

Smiling sleepily, he stood up. "So, Princess Yelina. What will it be? Would you care for some more coffee? Put your feet up on the sofa?"

She smiled. "Horatio, stop it."

Without another word he put his arm under hers and lifted her up, walking her to the sofa. She let him ease her down where he lifted her feet up. He then retreated to the kitchen where he poured her another cup of coffee. He set it down on the end table next to her, giving her a slight bow of his head. "Your cup of coffee, my beautiful princess."

Yelina only closed her eyes and smiled. It was so corny, but she was really enjoying it. "Thank you."

He then sat at the end and lifted her feet in his lap where he gently kneaded her toes. "Would my princess like her feet massaged?" he asked with a soft smile.

Yelina could feel the frustration slipping away as he kneaded her toes one at a time, from bottom to top, and then took her feet in each hand and worked them gently with his strong, firm hands. "Mmm. That feels good" she whispered. She closed her eyes and relaxed.

Horatio noticed that she was still caressing her belly. Gently he reached up and locked his fingers with hers. With gentle circular motions he caressed her angry, swollen belly. "Better?" he whispered soothingly.

"Mm Hmm."

For several minutes Yelina closed her eyes and listened to the gentle rustling of his hand caressing her. She smiled.

"How do you feel now, Your Highness?"

The sadness was long gone now, replaced with a floating bliss. "Mmm. Thank you."

"I think Your Highness would like to go back to sleep." Yelina was about to roll on her side. He put a hand on her shoulder. "No, just relax."

Gently he put an arm under her shoulders and one under her knee and scooper her up. "Hold onto my neck, your highness."

Yelina grinned tiredly as he walked her to the bedroom and laid her gently on the mattress and tucked the sheet around her neck. He then gently kissed her forehead. "Goodnight, Princess."

Without a word, Yelina reached up and put her arms around his neck, guiding him down to her lips. Gently she kissed him, her lips touching his for a few seconds. Horatio responded by wrapping his arms around her curls and pressing his lips closer. She stroked his red hair as the Florida heat lightning lit up the room again and again. Finally he stood up and smiled at her.

"Now that was a kiss fit for royalty" she whispered with a sleepy smile.

"I would agree" he whispered back. "Now you get some sleep, princess. I'll see you in the morning." And with that he kissed her forehead again.


	7. Little White Sundress

**Disclaimer: See Chapter 1**

**A/N: This is it, folks. This is the last chapter of this story. I'm very appreciative of the reviews, and I hope you enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed writing it. **

**Also, it pestered me to no end that things were always so deadly serious between Horatio and Yelina. They never got to just let go and play. Though it may be a little OOC, I'm going to let them. **

* * *

**Chapter 7—Little White Sundress**

**Three months later**

Horatio peered in as he tapped on the screen door. He then stood, hands on hips, surveying Yelina's yard. At his uncle's urging, Ray Jr. had mowed it that morning. After a few minutes the teen peered at him through the screen. "Hey Uncle Horatio."

"Ray. Is your mother there?"

"Yeah. She's in the bedroom. Come on in." He stepped out of his way as Horatio walked into the living room. "She's taking a shower right now."

"I'll be right out, Horatio" Yelina yelled through the closed bedroom door.

He smiled. "Take your time. I'm a little early."

Ray Jr. lay back down on the living room floor and resumed his X-Box game. Absentmindedly Horatio watched the images flash on the screen. "So how is everything, Ray?"

The teen never looked back. "Pretty good. Mom's feeling better."

He nodded. That was his nephew's way of saying that things had gotten back to normal.

* * *

After toweling off and shaking her damp curls out of the way, Yelina examined herself in the mirror. Just those three purple scars. But no more bleeding. No more puffiness. No more tiredness. No more moods.

As the bedroom door opened, a smile crossed his face and he stood up. For months Yelina had been slumping around in a baggy tee shirt and dark leggings. That tired, pale, trembling, weeping woman was once again the beaming, healthy, smiling woman that he remembered as she tapped out into the living room in that beautiful white sundress and matching heels.

"Well. Good evening. Who's this beautiful lady I haven't seen in months?"

Yelina dipped her head demurely and smiled. "You mean I wasn't beautiful before?"

"I didn't mean it that way. But you certainly look…well…."

"Better?"

Experience had taught Horatio that it was safer to wrangle with the Mala Noche than to talk to a woman about her looks. "I think we should finish this discussion over dinner."

Yelina put up one finger. "Just a minute, Horatio. There's something I have to put in the trunk." She reached behind her and picked up a plastic bag that had been inside her bedroom door.

Reflexively Horatio held out his hand. "Here, I'll take that. You shouldn't be—"

She gave him a knowing smile. "Don't worry, the doctor cleared me a month ago to go back to my normal routine. Besides, I don't think you want to carry this."

He held his hand out insistently, so Yelina put the bag in his hand. He peeked into the bag and blushed as he closed it again.

Yelina smiled and folded her arms. "Told you you didn't want to handle that."

Horatio glanced one more time at the huge assortment of tampons and maxipads.

"I'm donating them to the battered women's shelter."

"That's good." He then held out his arm for her. "Well, are you well enough to have some dinner?"

"I am." She took his elbow. "Ray, leave the light on, and don't stay up too late."

"Don't worry, Mom" he said to the TV screen.

* * *

Horatio's blue eyes followed Yelina's soft, beautiful curves as she held her glass of rose with both hands and watched the beach surf, her chocolate curls blowing in the breeze. This was the Yelina he remembered from so long ago-the beautiful Colombian detective he fell in love with. "So it looks like you're healing" he observed.

Yelina nodded as she sipped her wine again. "In fact, I'm already back to my full work schedule."

"And no more other problems?"

Coyly Yelina leaned her chin on her hand. She could always relax around him. "You mean those strange dreams? I'd hardly call those problems. I actually enjoyed them." She reached into her little white purse and handed him a folded piece of paper. "But there is one thing."

Looking at her, Horatio unfolded it carefully. He scanned the paper and then beamed at her. "Well, this is good news. An insurance company offered you a full-time job as an investigator?"

She nodded with a smile. "They said they were so impressed with my work that they want to keep me permanently. And the overtime will more than pay for my hospital bills." She tipped her head up and held her arms out as though stretching a little. "I mean, divorce and insurance cases weren't so bad, now that I'm thinking about settling down a little."

Horatio paused.

The smile ran away from Yelina's face. "What is it, Horatio?"

"Well, it's funny you mention surprises." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small velvet box. "And settling down."

She gasped as he slowly opened the box. Inside was a single-set diamond ring with a gold band. As reality set in, Yelina flushed. "Yes! Yes I will! Oh, Horatio!" she finally gasped, holding back tears. She held out her trembling hand as Horatio slipped it onto her hand.

Yelina couldn't help herself anymore. She lunged forward and flung her arms around him, pressing her lips against him with such a force that he lost his balance. As he fell backwards, his hand reflexively grabbed for anything, which just happened to be the white tablecloth, which didn't keep him from falling and pulling Yelina down with him. Yelina shrieked and covered her head as dishes and dessert rained down all around them. There was silence and then panicked screeches about whether they were hurt.

"We're fine" Yelina said, pulling the wet tablecloth off her dress. Shaking water out of her hair, she then looked at the dessert that had ended up on her dress, arms and legs. She actually smiled. "Look at this, Horatio!"

Horatio gathered himself now. He had a brown smear on his cheek. Grinning playfully, Yelina ran her finger on his cheek and then tasted it. "Mmm. Chocolate mud pie."

Not used to such a loss of dignity, Horatio wiped his face and his sunglasses with a cloth napkin. He then examined himself and shook the ice water off his hands. Carefully he pulled himself off the upended chair and took Yelina's hand, helping her to her feet. A waiter rushed in and picked up their chairs for them.

"Are you all right?" Horatio asked her as he held out her chair. He surveyed the mess that was their dinner. But his new fiancé smiled at him glowingly. For the first time in years she was beaming like a schoolgirl in love. "I'm fine, Horatio. Everything's just fine."

Horatio held Yelina's hand as they sat back, while the flurry of waiters picked up the tablecloth and broken dishes. "Well, I'd say dinner's over. Maybe I'd better take you home so you can get cleaned up."

Cleaning off her hands with a dry cloth, Yelina glanced at the beach in the distance. "Actually, I was thinking we could take a little stroll on the beach and dry off."

"I'm terribly sorry about this! You folks all right? Would you like another table?" the Maitre'D asked frantically.

Horatio put his hand up to calm the young man down. "Actually, I think I'd just like the check" he said, still wiping whipped cream from his black jacket and patting his red hair, just in case he was still wearing chocolate mud pie. "Seems my fiancé would like to take a little walk."

As Yelina dipped her hand in the surf and washed the chocolate syrup off her bare leg, he simply watched her. She still had chocolate and red wine stains on that beautiful sundress, but neither of them seemed to care. Yelina was admiring her engagement ring when she sensed those blue eyes on her.

"Yelina, you look absolutely messy" he finally said.

"Thank you, Horatio. I think you got all the chocolate off your face."

He touched her face to give her a long, slow kiss while her skirt flapped around his legs. He then looked into those beautiful eyes for a long time.

"So you had some dreams about me, did you?" he whispered.

"Mm Hmm. While I was on the Tylox." She glanced back at the surf and leaned her elbow on his shoulder. "They had to do with us being on the beach. Just like this." She then looked down and touched her belly again.

"Everything okay?"

"Well, the doctor said that I shouldn't have any real complications. But there's one thing I'm a little worried about."

"What's that?"

She paused. "Our wedding night. You know, if everything works right. I just want to make you happy."

Gently he held his fiancé close and put a hand on her belly. "Don't worry, Yelina. If it's with you, it will be Heaven on Earth."

END


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